Yoga, Health, and Wellness Articles + Recipes

This Full Moon marks the point in which we move out of the death phase and cross the waters into new territory. It is the dawning of a new day, of consciousness rising onto the next plane. The Full Moon will bring forward a stronger pull to dharma. Delineate between what serves and how to birth your next evolution. It is not within the physical realm, yet. Outward action will come in January. This point is when the feminine principle becomes impregnated with the wisdom from previous experience/lives. It will then begin to bring this wisdom and direction into physical form. We are in the plane between the physical and the mind. This energy is when the conscious mind is starting to get glimpses of new horizons but the movement towards this creation has not come into fruition.

“If your spine is inflexibly stiff at 30, you are old. IF it is completely flexible at 60, you are young.” - Joseph Pilates How old do you feel today? Most people experience tightness or pain in their back at some point. Whether you’ve been sitting too much or ran too many miles or overdid it in the back yard, you stand up and––ouch! Whether you simply need to stretch and strengthen the muscles surrounding your spine or it’s time to address chronic physical pain, yoga is a powerful tool.

Are you searching for a cake to serve your family and friends this holiday season? A dessert that’ll impress your guests but won’t take you hours to make? We’ve got the cake for you! Our new Pistachio Olive Oil Cake with Cacao Cashew Ganache makes a fantastic holiday dinner centerpiece. It’s the perfect recipe to have in your back pocket for any occasion.

Yoga and CrossFit can be paired beautifully to develop a well-rounded physical routine. Yoga is a mindful practice that increases strength, flexibility, and peace of mind, while CrossFit is more intense and aggressive. When both are paired, they provide unique emotional, psychological, and physical benefits. Whether you are an avid Crossfit enthusiast, who wants to balance your regular routine or a yogi who wants more cardio and strength training, these two modalities work well together. We’ve listed 6 fantastic benefits of incorporating yoga into your CrossFit training, or vice versa to help facilitate your well-rounded development:

The bandhas are energetic locks in the body. They are utilized to gain control of the flow of energy, prana, or life force, in your body. Understanding and engaging the bandhas creates an added depth to your yoga practice. The bandhas can be extremely beneficial for the brain, the Nadis (energy channels), and the chakras. They purify, remove blockages and harmonize and balance the self.

Anybody else ready to manifest their best life? We’re finishing out 2021, so be present and savor these last few weeks. If you’re ready to shift your focus forward, check out what we have in store for you on January 1, 2022. Whatever your goals and desires to live your best life are, a consistent yoga and meditation practice will help you set clear intentions and help you identify your personal life vision. “Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions,

We like to stick to a light soup for our pre-feast holiday meals. It takes the guesswork out of what to eat while you’re working to get your big meal together for later. So today we’re sharing one of our favorites: Creamy Pumpkin Sage Soup. Bursting with rich flavor and a smooth creaminess, this soup will warm your belly and enliven your taste buds just in time for the crisp fall weather. You might even want to add this to your menu instead of eating it beforehand. It’s sure to impress your guests and they’ll never know it’s good for them!

What is it to feel relaxed? How can you get there? Focus on the solution (calmness), more than the problem (anxiety). While it is easy to focus on our shortcomings, like anxiety, depression, and things that feel real and impossible to overcome, the truth is we will never overcome them by focusing on them.

You might think that big, sweeping lifestyle changes are the only way to improve your health drastically. Think of all those huge promises we make ourselves, especially at the start of the year- quitting smoking, losing weight, working out every day. While bigger health goals are important, some of the biggest changes come from the small steps we can take to improve our health. There are numerous smaller steps you'll take that will help progress your general wellbeing and quality of life - and they’re all things that are easily incorporated into your day-to-day life, so you can keep them up in the long term. Some will only take a few minutes each day but have a huge impact on your health. 1. Destress

Self-care is so important, especially around the holidays. Whether you love this time of year or find it overwhelming, there’s no denying that the pace of life accelerates. Luckily, yoga helps you maintain optimal health––inside and out. One of the best aspects of stepping onto your yoga mat is that whether you’re seeking a physical outlet or an emotional boost, yoga delivers it all. This week’s classes have varying focuses, so choose what resonates most for you at the moment, and know you’ll receive all the benefits. If you’re feeling stiff or out of balance physically, yoga can provide the gateway to more openness in your bones, joints, and muscles.

The holidays are almost here! This year we want to switch up dessert with something a little different. So today we’re sharing this beautiful and mouth-watering Apple Tart! This is our nourishing (and allergy-friendly!) alternative to the classic apple pie. It has all of the familiar, comforting spices you’d expect, but the creamy apple puree base and gorgeously caramelized apple topping give the texture a boost.

Statistically, women live longer than men. And I have a theory as to why this is true. Around the world, women do the yeoman's share of the cooking. And around the world, women do that cooking together. If you've ever had the good fortune of working in a kitchen with kindred folks, you know what a curative experience it can be. And if it was a volunteer group effort, I tell you, this joy is like no other. Here's the research explaining why.

Can you believe it’s almost the final month of 2021? Life can often feel like a juggling act between active vs. passive, yang vs. yin, and busy vs. idle. From now until the end of the year, life grows more hectic. If you’re feeling the sense of busy-ness, one way to find balance is by shifting to a more mellow yoga practice. If you’re accustomed to faster or more power style yoga classes, don’t worry because you’ll receive all the same benefits for your body, mind, and heart.

Giving up caffeine can be hard! That’s why we created this detox-promoting, coffee-flavored alternative to soften the blow of going sans coffee. Enter, the Dandelion Root Koffe Latte. Dandelion root, often associated with the pesky dandelion weed, has been used for centuries to treat depression, scurvy, and even diabetes. It’s difficult to find dandelion root in most health food stores, so your best bet is to buy it online. We bought our dandelion root and chicory from Frontier Natural Products and Starwest Botanicals. A great liver detoxifier, dandelion root is also known for aiding in digestion and weight loss.

I've had days where the thoughts coming in and out of my mind were all fear-based, all about future worries, and how and when things will work out. I do not like waking up like this, I guess no one does, to be honest. Having your morning starting like this has a huge effect on your whole day, on your mental health, on your self–esteem, on your productivity, and on everything basically. Things can get worse and worse if you are not conscious or aware of what your mind is actually doing to you. Because this is what spiraling negative thinking is, simply your mind’s game. Your mind is constantly creating thoughts. Some of them are better ones that you like hearing, feeling, and thinking and there are some of them that you are less likely to feel so nice about. That is why your mind can be your biggest friend and your worst enemy. This is also why being mindful and having the right mindset is so important. Because when you are awakened, when you notice immediately what is happening in your head, you have the power and the ability to transform these unwanted, fear-based, negative, untrue thoughts into ones that are going to help you to change your day around and that are going to have a positive influence on your mental health and mindset.

On the last Sunday of a recent year, I scrounged up all my old magazines, scissors, and a glue stick and headed over to my friend Reece’s healing center for a women’s life mapping workshop. For many past New Years, I had collaged together visions of my next year’s intentions and goals and was excited to do so again this year. However, when I arrived at the gathering I was told that we would be not be planning for the future with our collage but rather reflecting on the past year. Although this was disappointing – it’s much more exhilarating to dream and plan than to reflect and process – I faced the collage challenge head-on. In the end, my map of the prior year included, amongst many beautiful and fun memories, some difficult images of heartbreak, financial stress, health problems, and dreams dashed.

Come on yoga, light my fire! No, we’re not about to break into a classic rock tune from The Doors, but we are launching a discussion on how yoga helps stoke your agni or digestive fire. Over seventy percent of your immune system is in your gut and optimal digestion is key to improving and maintaining your vital health. A direct connection exists between the brain and the gut, and many diseases start in the digestive system. Yoga can play a pivotal role, along with proper nutrition, in keeping you strong, healthy, and happy. Yes, digestion impacts your emotions too! Just think about how you feel after you’ve over-indulged in foods that make you feel lethargic, heavy, and bloated. Or, if you’ve received bad news and suddenly you experience nausea and cramping.

Right now I can’t imagine any other recipe that would be more suited for autumn than these stuffed vegetables. They are warm, slightly spicy, and full of seasonal fresh vegetables. So-so good! I am not a big fan of autumn as it tends to be rainy and dark in Estonia, and spring is still very far away, but I absolutely love all the fresh produce available and I like to make the most of it. There are probably a million different recipes for stuffed vegetables. I once went to a yoga retreat in Morocco and as they offered cooking classes too, I got to learn how to make Moroccan-style stuffed vegetables. They used minced meat as the main filling ingredient, but as I very rarely consume animal products, I figured lentils might be a good substitute. I just remembered that all the cooking classes in Morocco were private classes in a tiny local kitchen and fully in French, which I don’t speak. It seems that food is a universal language because I managed to understand everything just fine.

A healthy body image and self-love are much more important than a number on a scale. While there is excess societal pressure to look a certain way, there are benefits to being a healthy weight. Being obese and overweight can contribute to various other health problems. Fortunately, there are things you can do every day to both stay in shape, or get back into shape. While exercise and a healthy diet are essential, simple things you can do in your home life can support you too in your weight loss journey. Here are 7 simple things you can do at home to help lose and keep off extra weight: 1. Eat Only to the point of need

All of us, even the most motivated of people, can feel unmotivated from time to time. All the amount of planning and thinking about doing things can’t help if you’re feeling in a slump and finding it difficult to make positive changes in your life. However, there’s a few small ways you can help yourself find motivation and get started with positive changes. Stick to One Goal

"Do or do not. There is no try." Yoda said it best in Star Wars. If we want to manifest the life of our dreams, it isn’t enough to visualize and plan. You must act. You must do. There is power in movement and this week’s classes are designed to assist your launch into action and your manifestation of change. Our thoughts and emotions hold great power. Yoga and meditation help us quiet our mind and tune in to our inner desires––what will bring us true contentment or Santosha. But identifying and visualizing the life we want is only the beginning. You are what you do. Each action we take creates a new pattern inside and out. It is vital to practice with purpose and follow up your intentions with action. “Do your Practice and All is Coming”- Sri K Pattabhi Jois.

Looking at the calendar and seeing the Halloween is near I am almost sure that everybody has too much pumpkin. I love pumpkin, but there is always too much of it. As I hate food waste, I always roast all the pumpkin I have leftover, squeeze extra water out of it, and keep the puree in the freezer. The flesh is easy to use for soups, cakes, and risottos and it lasts there forever. Today's recipe is also based on the pumpkin puree, but in case you don’t have that waiting in the fridge, just roast the cubes of pumpkin in the oven and use the puree fresh. In this case, you don’t need to squeeze out all the water, just use it instead of some of the stock. What do you do with all the pumpkin leftover from Halloween? Let us know in the comments!

“You are what you eat,” we all have heard it, know it, and most of us believe it. But are we aware of it and the aspects related to the effects of food on our minds? We need to take care of what we are eating and what is eating us. We know the effects food has on our bodies and have basic knowledge about what food contains what kind of nutrients and in what quantities, also what kind of nutrients we need to get healthy to lose fat, etc. But we have probably not given importance to the effects of food on our minds and personality. Does the food we eat really affect our minds and thoughts?

Do you need a little helping hand to calm down right this moment? If you missed YogaDownload.com’s two October yoga retreats in Spain and Portugal, you may not be as relaxed as those lucky students (and teachers!) For the rest of us at home––don’t worry! We’ve got some classes designed to bring your nervous system back into balance and help you unwind. One of the greatest gifts yoga offers is its profound impact on the brain and the nervous system. The sympathetic or “active” nervous system governs our fight or flight response.

When the cold weather has gradually manifested itself, pumpkin soup warms our souls. You can prepare this delicious gluten-free pumpkin soup recipe, both with and without cream. Ingredients: 500g (about 2 slices) pumpkin 1 potato